Senior Human Resources Advisor

East Midlands Combined County Authority; Chesterfield; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

East Midlands Combined County Authority is seeking an experienced Senior HR Advisor to join the Resources directorate. The role focuses on expert HR advice across employee relations, pay terms and employment law, including TUPE and workforce transitions.

The appointment is an 18-month fixed-term contract with potential to become permanent. You will work with trade unions and stakeholders to support organisational change while ensuring lawful and practical people solutions.

Qualifications

• Experienced HR professional with strong technical knowledge and pragmatic judgement.
• Advising managers and leaders on sensitive people matters and complex employee relations cases.
• Experience with TUPE, workforce transitions and organisational change.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert HR advice and coaching to managers and senior leaders.
• Independently manage complex employee relations cases, including disciplinary and grievance matters.
• Advise on organisational change, restructures and workforce transitions.
• Support TUPE transfers with due diligence, information provision and consultation.
• Translate employment law and policy into practical guidance for managers.
• Maintain governance and records for complex HR activity.

Skills

Employee relations

TUPE

Employment law

Organisational change

HR policy

Recruitment & retention

Education

CIPD Level 7 qualification

Job description

Salary: £45,529 – £50,908 per annum (The successful candidate will normally be appointed at the minimum point of the salary band, unless exceptional circumstances apply.)

Contract: 18-month fixed-term contract, with potential to become permanent

Directorate: Resources

Grade: F16

Reports to: HR Operations & Services Partner

Help shape our people agenda

The East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) is a new organisation with an ambitious vision for the region, making the East Midlands more prosperous, sustainable and fairer, while helping our people, businesses and places to create and seize opportunities.

As we continue to build our organisation and take on new responsibilities through devolution, our people agenda is central to how we deliver our ambitions.

We are looking for an experienced and confident Senior HR Advisor to join our HR team and provide high-quality, pragmatic and solutions-focused advice to managers and senior leaders across EMCCA.

This is an 18-month fixed-term contract, with potential for the role to become permanent, and an opportunity to play a key role in supporting managers through complex people issues, organisational change and workforce transition.

About the role

You’ll provide expert HR advice across a broad range of employee relations and people matters, including disciplinary and grievance cases, performance and capability, sickness absence, equality, recruitment and retention, pay and terms and conditions, employment law and HR policy.

You’ll independently manage complex and sensitive cases, providing clear advice, constructive challenge and practical recommendations that enable managers to make informed decisions.

A significant part of the role will be supporting organisational change, TUPE and workforce transition. You’ll work with colleagues, partner organisations, trade unions and employee representatives to support transfers into and out of EMCCA and help ensure that workforce transitions are well planned, legally compliant and effectively managed.

This is a role for an experienced HR professional who is comfortable operating in complexity, can balance employee experience with organisational risk, and can turn employment law and HR policy into practical advice that managers can use.

What you’ll be doing

You’ll:

• Provide expert HR advice, coaching and constructive challenge to managers and senior leaders.
• Independently manage complex employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, performance, capability and absence matters.
• Advise on sensitive employment issues, ensuring risks and options are clearly understood.
• Support managers to build their confidence and capability in managing people effectively.
• Provide specialist advice on TUPE, organisational change and workforce transition.
• Support transfers into and out of EMCCA, including HR due diligence, workforce information, Employee Liability Information, consultation and proposed TUPE measures.
• Work with transferor and transferee organisations, trade unions and employee representatives throughout workforce transitions.
• Support employee mapping, organisational structures, establishment arrangements and Day One readiness.
• Provide HR advice on restructures, redundancy, redeployment, service reviews, role changes, job evaluation and regrading.
• Interpret employment legislation and case law and translate complex requirements into clear, practical advice.
• Identify employment risks and provide leaders with options, mitigations and recommendations.
• Contribute to workforce transformation, organisational design, workforce planning and employee engagement initiatives.
• Support recruitment, retention, management capability, equality, diversity and inclusion and HR policy development.
• Maintain effective governance, records and decision trails for complex people activity.

About you

We’re looking for an experienced HR professional who combines strong technical knowledge with excellent judgement and a pragmatic approach.

You’ll have significant experience working in a complex organisation, advising and constructively challenging managers and senior leaders on sensitive people matters.

You’ll bring substantial experience of:

• Managing complex employee relations cases independently.
• Advising on organisational change, restructuring and workforce transition.
• TUPE, service transfers or comparable workforce transition programmes.
• Working with trade unions, employee representatives and a wide range of stakeholders.
• Applying employment legislation and relevant case law in practical situations.
• Assessing employment risk and providing clear options and recommendations.
• Interpreting complex workforce and employment information.
• Supporting consultation and implementation during organisational change.

Experience of large-scale or multi-organisation TUPE transfers, including both incoming and outgoing transfers, would be particularly valuable.

Experience within local government, a combined authority or another politically led organisation would also be desirable.

You’ll need excellent communication and influencing skills, high levels of integrity and discretion, and the confidence to work effectively in a changing environment.

What you’ll bring

You’ll hold a CIPD Level 7 qualification or be working towards it, or have equivalent senior-level HR experience demonstrating the professional knowledge and capability required for the role.

You’ll have strong and current knowledge of employee relations, organisational change and employment law, together with the ability to apply that knowledge in a practical and proportionate way.

Most importantly, you’ll be someone who can build trusted relationships, provide constructive challenge and find solutions to complex people issues.

This is an exciting time to join EMCCA. As a evolving organisation, you’ll have the opportunity to help shape our people policies, processes and culture while supporting significant organisational change and workforce transition.

You’ll work alongside experienced HR and organisational development colleagues and have the opportunity to contribute to projects that will shape how EMCCA operates and grows.

Your expertise will help us create an organisation where managers feel supported, employees are treated fairly and our people can contribute to delivering our ambitions for the East Midlands.

Our values

Our values shape our culture and how we work:

• Lifting our region – putting wider outcomes ahead of personal or organisational gain.
• Working together – building relationships, sharing perspectives and bringing people together.
• Making an impact – turning ideas into action and delivering meaningful improvements.
• Being human – valuing different perspectives and connecting with people authentically.

If you’re an experienced HR professional who enjoys working through complex employee relations issues, organisational change and TUPE, and you’re looking for an opportunity to help shape a new organisation, we’d like to hear from you.

Closing Date: 11/10/2026

Proposed Interview Date: w/c 26th October